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**USSKittyHawk** · 10-06-2006, 10:34 AM

Biggest Strength:

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Depth. The one thing the Knicks have going for them is they have a lot of bodies. In the grind of an 82-game season, few teams are better positioned to withstand injuries and foul trouble than this one. New York goes at least two deep at every position, with the only iffy spot being shooting guard -- they're basically playing two converted point guards at that spot.

Biggest Weakness:

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Perimeter shooting. New York's undoing offensively may be its lack of shooters, which should allow opponents to collapse into zones and sagging man-to-man looks with impunity. New York's backcourt players are all drivers, including the probable starting backcourt of Marbury and Francis, but they need complementary shooters to help give them space.
However, the Knicks' best 3-point shooters are Richardson, who had back problems all last year, and Jalen Rose, who may not play that much because his defense is so porous. Besides, both players are primarily small forwards -- the position non-shooter Jeffries was brought in to fill.

Exacerbating the lack of shooting is the fact that nearly all the Knicks are poor passers, especially the guards, so finding open men for jumpers doesn't come easily to these guys.

2006-2007 Outlook

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With a small, quick backcourt of Marbury and Francis, there's a lot of talk that the Knicks will run and push the ball like the Phoenix Suns. But anyone who has seen those two play knows this is impossible, because neither of them seek to push the ball up court. They're quick and they're great drivers, but they're mostly half-court guys.
While the style may not be what some expect, one thing I can pretty much guarantee is that the Knicks will win a lot more games. That's to be expected -- the nice thing about hitting rock bottom is that you can't go down any further -- but a number of factors favor the Knicks to make a double-digit improvement in wins. First and foremost, they'll play for Thomas, rather than last year's white-flag routine. That alone should improve the defense several notches.

As a result, I expect New York to generate some genuine excitement this year -- hanging out on the fringes of the playoff race and getting increased production from the younger players. They'll still massively underachieve compared to what they're spending, and it may not be enough to save Thomas' job, but the Knicks will at least look like a real NBA team again.

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